'Why Be Boring? Take Risks, Be Fearless, and You'll Make Your Home More Beautiful' – Beth Dotolo on Color, Confidence, and Creating a Home That's Uniquely Yours

For Beth Dotolo, the desire to create beautiful spaces began with a feeling of not having one. Growing up between two homes after her parents separated, she developed an early sense of displacement – and, eventually, a determination to create the sense of place she had been missing.

That instinct now sits at the heart of her work at Pulp Design Studios, the Seattle-based practice she founded with Carolina V. Gentry in 2007. Known for colorful, eclectic interiors that are deeply rooted in their occupants’ stories, Beth explains in the latest installment of our Layered Lives series how she believes the best spaces should do more than look good: they should make you feel something.

Her own home, once a painted fuchsia apartment, is now a burgundy-hued family home with a memory-filled collection of art and objects from her travels. And in her new book, co-authored with Carolina, Fearless Design, she makes the case for taking risks, embracing the personal, and, above all, creating homes that reflect the people who live in them.

Homes & Gardens: Where do you think your love of design comes from?

Beth Dotolo: In hindsight, my parents split when I was six months old, and I grew up never really having a home base. My mom lived in a different state from my dad, and my time was split between the two. When I was home with my mom, I never felt like I was there long enough to make my room my own, and when I was at my dad's, I was bunking in with my stepsister. I had a real sense of displacement, which then turned into a yearning to create a sense of place and space and anchor myself to my environment as I got older. The good thing is that now I can create a sense of space no matter where I am.

Homes & Gardens: Were your parents creative? Did that gene rub off on you at all?

Beth Dotolo: Not in the least! My mom was a psychologist, and my dad worked in road construction. My own internal desire to create comes from my love of using both the left and right sides of my brain, of being creative while also digging deep into the technical.

Homes & Gardens: So, at what point did you start to think design could be a career for you?

Beth Dotolo: My job in high school was working for a home goods store, and I grew with them. By the time I was 17, I had become their regional display specialist and was creating their window displays. And they were always perfection! That's where I learned how to piece things together visually and make things work, and that's when I decided to go to design school.

Homes & Gardens: At this point, you possibly had your own home for the first time. How were you decorating it?

Beth Dotolo: Oh, wildly! I painted my entire apartment fuchsia in 2005. I had graduated from design school, and I just went all crazy. I had just started working at the interior design firm where I met Carolina [V. Gentry, now Beth's co-founder at Pulp Design Studios]. I wanted to make a statement in every project I did, and she said it always ended up looking like a nightclub. My work always had to reflect the client, so at home, I wanted to make a big bang and explore my own style. Why be boring?!

Homes & Gardens: At what point did you and Carolina decide to set up your own studio?

Beth Dotolo: We did a terrible install at the firm we were working at, and we were sitting at a stoplight, going, "What are we doing?" We believed in our talent, so we decided to do our own thing. I immediately went home and started buying up URLs and brainstorming company names. This was back in 2007, and we both still had jobs but started taking on clients. I transitioned to working full time on our own thing after a couple of years, and then it got busier, so I told Carolina she had to come on full time, too. Knowing now how reserved she is, I really respect her bravery in just jumping in with me.

Homes & Gardens: What sort of projects were you getting in the early days?

Beth Dotolo: People were asking if we could do their whole house for $5,000, and we were like, "Sure! I mean, it's not possible, but we will do our best!" We did some construction jobs that were great for our portfolios and just worked hard at it. Neither of us came from money, so we didn't have that as a cushion, nor did we have a wealthy social circle to use as a source of clients. We had to build trust and rely on referrals. And we did that by being super professional and super good at our jobs.

Homes & Gardens: Are there any projects that felt like a bit of a turning point?

Beth Dotolo: There are two projects that stand out. The Glass House was a new construction project on the water here in Seattle, and it felt like a big deal for us to get it. The client really resonated with our use of color and put a lot of trust in us, which we were really grateful for, and they ended up referring us to a ton of friends and family. Then we did the Kips Bay Show House in 2021 and got a lot of notice from that. Our design was all very weird and wicked, with snakes and tarot cards, and it was an opportunity for us to do a lot of storytelling.

Homes & Gardens: Storytelling is key in your work. How do you begin to build that narrative?

Beth Dotolo: Ultimately, we want every project to feel deeply personal, so we ask how they want to feel in the room. At the Glass House, he said he wanted to feel "unrestrained," which was an unexpected word, and we thought that was so deep and so cool. To honor that, we chose dining chairs in lots of different colors, art that was unframed and had loose edges, and that sort of thing. Most people tend to ask for something relaxing!

Homes & Gardens: Do you feel like your style has evolved since you began?

Beth Dotolo: Oh, absolutely. I regularly take projects off our website that no longer feel like us! I mean, the focal wall! I remember painting the wall a different color and thinking it looked so great, but not painting the ceiling. Now, I will always paint all the walls. Otherwise, it just looks unfinished.

Homes & Gardens: And presumably your own home is no longer fuchsia?

Beth Dotolo: I've matured to burgundy now. My home office is a wine-colored room, and my personal style is based very much on ideas I've collected over the years. Every project influences me somehow, and because of that, I've become more eclectic.

Homes & Gardens: What role do you want your home to play in your life now?

Beth Dotolo: I need my home to stimulate me. I want to be able to look at memories and pieces of art and smile. I sit around my home now and just smile. I have a tiny rubber duck on a pedestal by my TV and think about the trip I was on when I got it. All throughout my house are things I picked up on my travels that remind me of milestones and moments. Of course, things have to be beautiful, but they have to have a memory attached to them, too.

Homes & Gardens: You've said that the best design comes from solving a specific problem rather than applying a cookie-cutter style. What are the problems you find most interesting to solve?

Homes & Gardens: And now your new book, Fearless Design, has just been published. What do you hope people will take from it?

Beth Dotolo: When we started writing this book, we wanted people to take more risks and to encourage them to be vulnerable enough to do that. You can't just design for durability or take a cookie-cutter approach. Every space needs to be personal and reflect your culture and your story. Live fearlessly, fill your home with stuff you like, and find a way to make it work. Some people say, "Oh, I can't have that because my kids are young and will mess it up. I'll wait until they're older." But I have a green velvet sofa, kids, and a dog, so I made sure it was bleach-cleanable. Take risks, be fearless, and you'll make your home more beautiful.

From a fuchsia apartment to a burgundy home filled with memories, Beth Dotolo’s own spaces have always been an expression of who she is. But her philosophy goes deeper than color or style. For Dotolo, good design is about creating a space that feels uniquely yours – a place to take risks, tell your story, and ultimately feel at home.

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